Open Door Marriage (3 page)

Chapter 3

9:02 p.m.

They entered the elegant Presidential Suite, walked across the ivory marble foyer, and past a spacious kitchen, where they were welcomed by a modern blend of chocolate leather seating in the living room, and white leather and ebony wood in the dining area. Marble floors throughout were complemented by ivory walls and black and white artwork, along with a series of cathedral windows that provided a panoramic view of downtown Chicago and Lake Michigan.

“
It should only take a few moments to get her settled,
”
Dallas said to Tori.
“
Then we
’
ll talk.
”

Tori grimaced as Alicia tried to get Dallas to release his hold on her, with no success. Tori turned from them, moved toward the living room, but quickly changed direction when she realized he was heading for the bedroom with her aunt.

Dallas gently deposited Alicia onto the bed, settling her atop the plush white comforter. When he turned toward the bathroom, Tori snarled,
“
You run her some bath water and I
’
m going to put my foot so far up your behind, you
’
ll need a surgeon to figure out where it ends.
”
She barely recognized her voice, but with the rage bubbling inside her, she was fully prepared to back up her threat.

“
She
’
s still cold. And she needs to soak this foot,
”
he said, staring down at Tori.
“
Are you going to run some water for her?
”

“
Does it look like I feel like being the fucking maid?
”

Dallas paused for a split second, surprised by Tori
’
s use of profanity, but his head whipped to the woman who moved to the edge of the bed as she said,
“
I don
’
t need her help. Or yours. I can take care of myself.
”

He flickered a gaze at a shivering Alicia, then pivoted toward the bathroom.
“
I can
’
t get into any more trouble with you than I
’
m already in.
”

The next thing Tori heard was the stream of water hitting the porcelain of the Jacuzzi.

That bastard!

Unable to see past the tears in her eyes, Tori went to the nearest chaise—a curved leather and steel design that cradled her as though the abstract furniture felt sorry for her.

Dallas had always been a gentleman, but this—the care he was giving Alicia—was too much. It was as if Tori didn
’
t exist. And right now, she probably didn
’
t. Their earlier argument was still ringing in her ears.

* * *

Five hours ago,
Tori had hurried from her parent
’
s living room to the foyer to retrieve her cell from the pocket of her new Sable when Dallas
’
ring tone sounded.

She didn
’
t get to say hello before he said,
“
We need to talk.
”
The tone was cold, more than distant.
He didn
’
t even say,
‘
Happy Thanksgiving
’
and that caused a sliver of alarm to course through her.

“
About what?
”
she asked, pressing her back to the closet to close it.

“
I don
’
t hold these kind of conversations over the phone, Tori.
”

She froze in the middle of walking back to the dining room, closing her eyes as she tried to work through the reasons he would come at her this way.
“
Can you at least give me a hint?
”

“
Your latest television interview. Your latest magazine spread. The latest invoices that my accountant just called about,
”
he said, and each sentence was like a hammer blow.
“
Tori, you landed a contract with a reality show by making a promise that I would make guest appearances? Without consulting me?
”
He released a frustrated sigh.
“
We need to rethink this whole marriage thing. Because
it
’
s not about me and you anymore. It
’
s about you and the world. I don
’
t know who the hell you
’
ve become and I
’
m not feeling it.
”
He was quiet a few moments as though weighing his next words.
“
Before we make a mistake, I need to rein this in.
”

Tori silently cursed, now wishing that she hadn
’
t pressed him to talk. Bernice came to stand in front of her, arms akimbo, frowning.

“
So you
’
re not coming for Thanksgiving?
”
Tori asked as a stab of fear entered her heart. She waved her mother away, but Bernice didn
’
t budge.

“
I don
’
t think it
’
s a good idea,
”
he answered.
“
We
’
ll talk when you get back.
”

“
Dallas, don
’
t leave me hanging,
”
she pleaded, causing Bernice to scowl.
“
Whatever it is, we can talk about it when you get here. It can
’
t be so bad that it can
’
t be fixed.
”

Bernice nodded as though she was hearing the other side of the conversation.

“
Tori, you
’
re tapping into accounts that aren
’
t even yours. Then you go on national television—
The View
of all places—and tell intimate details of our love life. Well, what there is of our love life—since the only lovin
’
that
’
s been available to me has been from my five fingers and a palm.
”

Tori turned away from her mother
’
s distracting movements. She had never heard Dallas so mad. That
’
s when she realized that she had made a grave mistake by listening to her mother, and that included flying through the budget that Dallas had given her for the wedding. He didn
’
t even know about new bills that would hit in a few days. And the truth was, she didn
’
t know what her mother was spending it on.

With Bernice
’
s recent diatribe about the major risks of Tori
’
s chosen profession—the thought of losing Dallas did not appeal to her in any kind of way.

Now, as she reflected on his earlier words, Tori stared out the window at a midnight blue sky without a single star to interrupt the never-ending darkness.

Tori wanted to demand answers from Alicia, but her heart sank when she remembered that her own words had put a wedge between them so deep that they hadn
’
t spoken a single syllable to each other for the past year.

* * *

Thanksgiving Dinner. Last year.

“
It
’
s time for you all to make a move,
”
Alicia said to James and her tone caused all of the guests to turn her way.
She held a stack of charred pictures, and her hand was trembling with equal parts anger and sadness.
“
Bernice is making me believe that life in jail wouldn
’
t be such a bad thing.
”

Bernice smirked and continued walking with a platter of dinner rolls she had carried in from the kitchen.

“
Just one more month,
”
he pleaded from his spot at the head of the dining room table.
“
That
’
s all we need.
”

“
We aren
’
t going to make it another week under the same roof. She destroyed them on purpose,
”
she said, waving the damaged photos at him.
“
I
know
she did!
”
Alicia raked a look over Bernice and took one step toward her, but James scrambled out of his chair to block her way.

“
It was a mistake,
”
James said to his sister.
“
I
’
ll replace everything.
”

“
Those things were irreplaceable!
”
Alicia shrieked, her green eyes flashing with fire.
“
You know they were. She just wanted to get rid of any evidence that could expose her lies.
”

“
Evidence,
”
Aunt Yoli asked, her jowls shaking as her head snapped to Alicia, then Bernice.
“
Did she kill somebody?
”

“
Well, she does cut up a chicken real well,
”
Uncle Bill added while stuffing his face with dressing.
“
A human should be no trouble.
”

Bernice gave him the evil eye, but he wasn
’
t cowed because he added,
“
They might be PlayBoy photos.
”

“
My votes on those,
”
Nathan chimed in.
“
She was a real looker back in the day.
”

Nathan
’
s wife, Diane, elbowed him in the side and he almost spit out a mouthful.

“
Just give us one more month,
”
James said, taking Alicia
’
s hand in his and patting it, as though the mild action would be enough to calm her down.

“
Oh, yes,
”
Bernice taunted from the threshold of the kitchen.
“
Just keep begging, James. She
always
gives in to you.
”

Bernice circled the dining room and stood on the opposite side of the table, looking at Alicia with a hatred so strong it felt like it had its own zip code.
“
Just as he
’
s
always
catered to your uppity ass.
”
She rubbed a hand across her face.
“
He only married me because I look so much like you!
”

“
Uh oh. Here we go again,
”
Uncle Bill said, scraping the chair on the hardwood floor as he got up and fled to a safer spot near the front door.

“
Why is that, dear sister-in-law?
”
Bernice asked. Then, her thin lips curled into a sneer.
“
Only a woman who
’
s been giving a man some nookie has that kind of hold on him.
”

Diane scrambled from her seat and joined Uncle Bill, as the others who remained at the dining table gave them curious looks.

One eyebrow raised, Bernice finished with,
“
So, what
’
s really been going on. Aleeeee-sha? You
’
ve been letting your brother have his way with you?
”

In the moment it took to draw a single breath, Alicia was across the dining room table and inches from Bernice
’
s face. Bernice struck out and landed the first blow, but Alicia blocked it and threw a punch that tumbled her sister-in-law to the carpet with a solid thud. The rest of the dinner guests scrambled from their seats to give the brawlers room.

This had been a long time coming—and no one wanted to get in the middle. Ever since Alicia had told her brother not to marry that
“
pure gutter trash,
”
Bernice and Alicia had been enemies. At first, James had listened to his sister until Bernice fired back, accusing James of being
“
too intimately involved
”
with his sister to make his own decisions; that Alicia was practically holding his balls. The taunt worked. James eloped with Bernice and the relationship between Alicia and Bernice had traveled the fast lane of Satan
’
s highway ever since.

Alicia was on top of Bernice slamming a fist into her face while growling,
“
You say some stupid shit like that?
”
Slam!
—
”
In
my
house.
”
Slam!

“
Stop them!
”
Tori screamed as Uncle Bill held her back.

“
While you
’
re eating
my
food.
”
—
Slam!
—
”
Soaking up
my
heat and
my
electricity?
”
—
Slam!
—
”
You
’
re not paying one damn bill in this mother—
”

The two crashed into the buffet just as Yoli wobbled all four cheeks and a couple of chins in the opposite direction to get out of their way. Bernice struggled to dodge Alicia
’
s blows, stretched out a hand toward the dining room table, grabbed a fork,
and stabbed Alicia
’
s left hand.

Alicia shrieked, then went one better and yanked the carving knife out of the half-eaten turkey, lowering it to Bernice
’
s neck, slicing just enough for trickles of blood to make a run for the carpet.

Tori broke free of Uncle Bill
’
s hold, pulled Alicia away from her mother, then slapped her aunt full on.
“
What the hell are you doing?
”

“
You heard what she said!
”
Alicia protested.
“
After she destroyed my. . .
”
Then her gaze narrowed at Tori.
“
Wait a minute, you know your mother was wrong. You
’
re taking her side against me?
”

“
Of course I am! You
’
re not my mother,
”
Tori snarled.
“
No matter how much you want to be.
”
Then she glared at Alicia.
“
If you
’
re going to be mad at anybody, it should be me. I burned them.
”

Alicia froze as the brutal words ripped into her.
“
You? You destroyed them?
”

“
She said you
’
re using them to blackmail her,
”
Tori said, balling her hands into fists.
“
How could you do something so low?
”

Alicia stared at Tori for a few minutes. Finally, she said,
“
Did you even look to see what you were burning?
”
Her eyes crumbled, defeated, not by her enemy, but by friendly fire.

Tori turned just in time to see the ugly grin spread across her mother
’
s lips. Only then did Tori realize that maybe, just maybe, she had fallen for her mother
’
s story when she should
’
ve been smart enough to look in those boxes for herself.

Alicia slowly rose to her feet and swept past James and the rest of their shocked guests.

“
You see what she did to me?
”
Bernice said to James as she wiped a stream of blood from her neck, which was instantly replaced by a fresh flow.
“
Call the police!
”

When James didn
’
t move to do her bidding, Bernice hurried toward the cordless phone.
“
Either she leaves or I
’
m going to press charges!
”

“
It
’
s my house!
My
house!
”
Alicia shrieked from halfway up the staircase.

James turned toward his sister, a pleading expression on his face.
“
You cut deep. She
’
s going to need stitches. Alicia, this is serious.
”

Alicia threw up her hands.
“
I can
’
t deal with you people!
”
She ran up the rest of the stairs, into her room, snatched a suitcase from her closet, and immediately stuffed clothes inside. By the time she descended the stairs and hurried across the dining and then the living room, the police had arrived.

James wouldn
’
t let them past the door.
“
Sir, it was a misunderstanding. There
’
s no need for you to do anything.
”

The burly officer peered around James, nodding toward Bernice.
“
Doesn
’
t she need medical attention?
”

“
My husband will take me,
”
Bernice answered, then gestured toward Alicia.
“
Y
’
all just get her ass out of here.
”

Tori moved until she was directly in Alicia
’
s path.
“
I never want to see you again,
”
she said, brushing off thoughts that her mother may have tricked her. If Alicia was running, it meant one thing
—
she was guilty.

Alicia
’
s tears welled up and spilled over as she gave Tori one last lingering look. With her bag in tow, she followed the two uniform-clad men out of her home.